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Police count high cost of rescuing stranded cyclists

Police say an emergency call-out to help a trio of cyclists in Western Australia's north cost $250,000.

The three men met online, and last month attempted to cycle from Alice Springs to the WA coast via the Great Sandy Desert.

However, on a remote dirt track in the Pilbara, they decided to split up and then started to run out of water.

Police had to call in a search plane from Darwin to find them and deliver water.

Acting Senior Sergeant Dave Timlin says it took up a lot of police time and he has estimated the operation would have cost nearly $250,000.

"The cost doesn't get recovered and obviously that's what the money is for but maybe something that could be of benefit could be some sort of insurance policy or similar that needs to be taken out before people embark on these types of journeys," he said.

"Because it's a massive cost, not just at a local state level, this one ended up being a national incident and obviously Australian taxpayers have to foot most of the bill, which is a shame."